1. 200 300 400 500 100 200 300 400 500 100 200 300 400 500 100 200 300 400 500 100 200 300 400 500 100 Reading this category aloud may cause vomiting and if you’re lucky… diarrhea. Mi zapatilla de deportees esta hecho de queso. What did one duck Say to the other duck? Seriously ? Okay, first…ducks can’t talk. Secondly, I don’t Speak duck. Thirdly…QUACK! I’m Gondwana fishim’ so I Can cook tonight’s special: Pangaea-seared trout. Yup…I do know how bad That is It’s late. I’m tiered Make up your own Stupid category! Geez! Do I have to do Everything around here?

2. Which quarter of Jerusalem calls The Wailing/Western Wall its holy site?

3. The Jewish Quarter

4. Which quarter of Jerusalem calls The Cathedral of St. James its holy site?

5. The Armenian Quarter

6. Which quarter of Jerusalem calls The Dome of the Rock its holy site?

7. The Muslim Quarter

8. Which quarter of Jerusalem calls The Church of the Holy Sepulchre its holy site?

9. The Christian Quarter

10. Do all people belonging to an ethnicity need to belong to the same religion?

11. Nope…they sho’ don’t

12. The Qur’an is…

13. The collected writings and sayings of Muhammed that forms the basis of the holy text of Islam.

14. If you live in a country wherein the governing power is held by a religious leader, you live in a/an ____________

15. Theocracy

16. People who follow the religion of Islam are called__________

17. Muslims

18. The predominant ethnic group living in Saudi Arabi are_______

19. Arabs

20. The predominant ethnic group living in Israel is_______

21. Jews. Remember that Jewish is an ethnicity and a religion.

22. What is the predominant ethnic group in Iraq?

23. Iraqi (Mesopotamian) Arabs 75% Kurds 17% Turkmen 3% Assyrians 2% Persians 2% Other 1% (Armenians, Chechens, Circassians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Shabaks).

24. The majority of people who are of Arab and Persian ethnicity are followers of ____________.

25. Islam

26. Judaism and Christianity have a differing basic belief about Jesus. What is that fundamental difference?

27. Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah (savior of man).

28. There are two groups within the followers of Islam. What are the two groups and how do they differ in fundamental belief?

29. Sunni (1.2 billion) Shi’a (2 million) Basically (very basically) they disagree on who should have taken over after Muhammed.

30. What key statistic shows a direct correlation with high standard of living?

31. It’s the reason you’re here right now… a high literacy rate !

32. Political and economic disputes and policies along with military actions in the Middle East affect the economies and politics of many other countries around the world. Why is this?

33. Many countries import the bulk of their oil from this region.

34. In the Middle East, there is a difference in viewpoint over how to “handle” the region’s vast oil wealth…what are the two basic viewpoints in this debate?

35. Traditional Islamic Values v Western Materialism

36. What is Sharia?

37. Sharia is the religious law that all Muslims are required to adhere to. This law originates from the Qur’an.

38. What is the difference between an ethnic group and a religious group?

39. People of the same ethnicity share cultural heritage. You do not choose this, nor can you change it. People of the same religion share the same spiritual beliefs. This is chosen and can be changed.

40. What is OPEC?

41. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. This organization was formed with the goal of helping oil producing countries, get a fair price for their resource.

42. The Jewish and Christian religions share the Ten Commandments as a foundation of faith. What is comparable in the Islamic faith?

43. The Five Pillars of Islam

44. Name three non-Arab Muslim groups.

45. Here’s a bunch for ya… Turks Persians Kurds Indonesians Pakistanis Nigerians

46. What are two cultural tools for which we can thank the Middle Eastern region?

47. The Arabic Numerals and The Western Alphabet I use that stuff a lot, so… Thanks folks

48. What term refers to a religious group’s belief in one god?

49. Monotheism

50. Why can’t we all just get along and respect each other’s beliefs and views without some folks being judgmental, condescending, hypocritical, or just plain nasty?

51. Yeah…I don’t get it either. Maybe we can go out there together and help folks to realize that they need to “walk the walk”